Epine!

A small batch then...

This is a guarded secret... so guarded, in fact, that I hesitate to blog about it, but then you don't know about my Blackthorn thicket so I'm unlikely to have to defend it from hordes of like-minded foragers.

"Epine" is French for "thorn", but more importantly, it's the name given to the most divine aperitif on the planet. That's not an exaggeration. It's FACT.

It can also only be made in May with the fresh, tender new shoots of the Blackthorn tree, which will later give us all sloes, making the Blackthorn a doubly excellent tree.  You can pinch them off with your nails or take gardening gloves and a pair of secateurs if you want to be kinder to your hands and the tree.

The result is a sweet, slightly woody, slightly almondy, exceptionally moreish fortified wine.

Here goes for one demijohn:

Epine

- a good double-handful of fresh Blackthorn shoots
- 500g sugar
- 750ml vodka (yes, vodka - no taste to mask the gloriousness of the Epine)
- 5 bottles of red wine

Poke the shoots into the Demijohn.  Dissolve the sugar in the vodka (or some of the wine) because when the demijohn is full, you won't want to shake it about to dissolve it then.  Pour in 4 of the bottles of wine, then the vodka/sugar mixture and then top up with as much of the remaining bottle of wine as possible. Pop a stopper in, or cover with a bit of clingfilm.

Let it stand in a cool, dark place for 2 to 3 weeks (no longer, as it can turn bitter) and then filter out and bottle.  Hide in various hard-to-find locations to ensure moderation in drinking.

It also keeps really well if given the chance.